The Art of Subtext: Transform Your Novel’s Dialogue

Do you struggle to write dialogue that feels authentic yet compelling? Do you worry you’re crafting conversations in your stories that feel flat or too dramatic? Inserting subtext in dialogue can help with that!

My husband had an experience that demonstrates the power of subtext in dialogue—the meaning beyond the words people speak.

We were kids, newly married, teaching middle-grade English in Japan. It wasn’t long until we discovered the extent to which harmony and cohesion were valued in our new home. Our good friend, Yukako, taught us a variety of ways to sidestep speaking the Japanese word for “no,” which is often considered too forward or rude.

While subtlety and subtext is appreciated in New England, where my husband and I grew up, idiomatic expressions like speak your mind, call a spade a spade, lay your cards on the table, and don’t mince words, are part of our country’s ethos, and undoubtedly influence the way we communicate as well.

One day, my husband was invited to co-teach his friend’s 7th-grade English class. The students were primed and ready for their visitor and may have been a bit more riled up than usual. Mirroring their energy, Dave put on a lively performance full of jokes, discussion points, and probably a bingo game or two.

In no time, the room buzzed with conversation. It was going great. Or so my husband thought.

During a pause for a writing exercise, his colleague approached him to say, “Thank you, Sensei. You are a very exciting teacher. My students seem excited to learn English today. Very excited.”

Fantastic. The teacher’s response appeared positive, just what my husband hoped for.

Then our friend withdrew eye contact. Her focus shifted back to her students, who at this point were in and out of their seats, emboldened, most likely, by Dave’s enthusiasm. Indeed, they were very excited.

To his dismay, he realized he’d misinterpreted her comment. Now her frozen smile revealed discomfort. As she surveyed her noisy classroom, she shifted back and forth on her feet and chewed her bottom lip.

Subtext in Action

When Dave’s colleague shared her observations, on the surface, her response appeared positive.

Looking more closely, he saw the truth was something different. It was October. The young teacher finally had her students trained to sit quietly. Two months of hard work undone by an hour playing bingo with this guy!

As Dave discovered, people don’t always say what they mean. And characters in novels don’t need to either. As in this case, propriety or conflict aversion might be a reason someone’s words aren’t reflective of their feelings.

Subtext is the complicated truth beneath the words people speak. Cultural factors, hidden motives, or duplicity could also be at play in dialogue subtext.

Imagine this story as it was first told to you. Now read this version with the subtext removed.

The young visitor smiled naively. The students were having a blast. Things were going great, or so he thought. Suddenly, the teacher approached him with a frown. “Put away those bingo cards. This classroom is too noisy. It will take hours for me to get these kids quiet again.”

What a difference subtext makes. Subtext is the stuff of amusing anecdotes. (Dave and this teacher had a good laugh about their exchange several weeks later.) Subtext adds layers of interest clearly lacking in the second, straightforward telling.

In the original story, subtext makes this teacher more complex and multidimensional. Depending on what else we already know, we might conclude that classroom management is important to her, but not at the expense of embarrassing a visitor or causing conflict.

We could also learn something about educational pedagogy in rural Japan. What looked like engaged learning to the teacher from Vermont was pandemonium and wasted time in the eyes of colleagues.

Now think about the ways dialogue subtext could reveal more about the characters in your novel.

Do your characters always say what they feel, or does another meaning lie beneath their words’ surface?

Context Helps Connects the Dots

Books with subtext often contain emotional depth that helps us better understand and empathize with characters in the story.

But this device only works if readers have context enough to connect those dots. For example, Dave eventually understood the subtext because he’d been in Japan long enough to know that conflict in the workplace was taboo and that his colleague would likely go to great lengths to avoid it. Upon reflection, he also recalled that other classes in this school were usually much quieter than his. This context made the subtext of this conversation discernable.

To provide readers with the context they need to appreciate your dialogue’s subtext, establish:

• what your character believes feels
• what your character fears
• what your character wants

In the example I’ve shared, based on the context we already have, we can guess:

• She felt like she’d handed over control of her classroom.
• She feared embarrassing her guest by being too direct.
• She wanted order restored without anyone losing face in the process.

Not every piece of dialogue you write requires this technique. Characters often say what they mean. But applied mindfully, subtext in dialogue creates conversations that are rich with complexity and texture.

It’s your turn. Revisit a piece of straightforward dialogue you’ve written recently. Try infusing this conversation with a dash of subtext. What changes?

Give it a try and let me know how it goes in the comments section below.

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